Bowles Rocks
Local highlightA south-facing sandstone crag near Eridge, run by an outdoor centre and long used by climbers finding their feet
Bowles Rocks is a line of Wealden sandstone (soft, honey-coloured rock) rising beside the Bowles Outdoor Centre south of Eridge. It’s one of only a handful of natural crags to climb in the South East, and the centre owns it, so there’s a fee and it’s often busy with groups. Because the sandstone is soft and wears away easily, climbing is done on ropes from the top rather than led with gear placed in the rock — a convention the local climbing community holds to firmly, to keep the crag from crumbling. If you want more of the same, Harrison’s Rocks and Eridge Rocks are a short way north, part of the same belt of outcrops through the High Weald.
